NEW DELHI: Feeling bitter about the dismal and humiliating batting performance of Delhi Daredevils in this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) yet again, mentor Rahul Dravid believed that the batsmen were inconsistent in their performances, which knocked the team down at the bottom of the points table.
Delhi finished sixth with 12 points in 14 games, with their batting line-up that included Rishabh Pant (366 runs), Sanju Samson (386), Shreyas Iyer (338) and Karun Nair (281)– all failing to deliver their true potential.
According to Dravid, the batsmen were picked at the auction that had brilliance but lacked consistency. “We are really disappointed as we were sure to qualify for the play-offs,” said Dravid.
Dravid’s outburst came at a time when Delhi Daredevils lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by 10 runs in their last league game on Sunday.
“The young players were outstanding, and I believe that they have the ability to become stars one day. Players like Pant and Samson proved their spirit against good bowling line-ups. However, they need more uniformity,” he said.
“All are talented. Nobody releases experienced Indian players in the auction. We honestly took the decision to back some homegrown youthful talents, mixing them with experienced overseas players and experienced bowling attack. Couple of guys didn’t kick on at the right time. No pardons as we had opportunities but we haven’t taken them,” Dravid said to the media.
Dravid also grumbled about Delhi’s inability to pull off close matches as the main reason behind their disappointing run.
“We were unable to win several games from close situations which proved to be our downfall this season. Out of around eight close matches, we could barely manage 2-3 wins from those positions. We required eight wins to qualify in this tournament, but we got seven last year, six this year and I think the close games we lost probably did cost us,” he said.
The former Indian captain also felt that the lack of mercurial batsmen like JP Duminy and Quinton de Kock due to injuries before the start of the league spoiled their prospects to win the play-offs.
“Unfortunately, Quinton and JP, who was our safe bet had to pull out of the IPL because of injury, and we were forced to hunt for substitutes at the eleventh hour,” he reasoned.
Meanwhile, it’s high time that Delhi Daredevils needs to shed the “underachievers tag” and end its unending tale of misery.